Brian Schottenheimer breaks down the daunting and ‘unusual’ challenge the Dallas Cowboys face after first win of the 2026 season
Playing an international game is no easy task in the NFL. Brian Schottenheimer and the Dallas Cowboys will need to figure it out, and treating it like a short week is the route they’ll take.
The Dallas Cowboys don’t play until Sunday, yet it’s a short week at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Why? The Cowboys have to travel outside the US for the first time since 2014 to face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 in the first ever NFL game at Rio de Janeiro, Brazill.
Following the Cowboys’ win over the Washington Commanders in Week 2, Schottenheimer broke down the daunting challenge facing the team, which is significantly compounded by injuiries.
Schottenheimer reveals the plan for Cowboys’ trip to Brazil
“The players will be off (Monday), it’s going to be unusual,” Schottenheimer told reporters postgame. “Tuesday is Wednesday and then we’ll finish the game plan. So, we’re going to treat it like a short week and then we’ll fly Thursday night through the night, get down there and move around a little bit Friday. But we’re used to weird schedules and short weeks.”
The biggest problem for Schottenheimer and the Cowboys coaching staff won’t be the logistics. They have a full operations team taking care of that. However, they’re faced with a challenge of navigating a short week, an international trip, and gameplanning with more injuries than they hoped for.
“We got beat up a little bit tonight,” Schottenheimer added. “(Safety) P.J. Locke’s got a foot. (Cornerback) Cobie Durant’s got a hamstring. We’ve got to get some more tests there. (Linebacker Jaishawn Barham) had a stinger. He came back, but we did get beat up a little bit, so we’ll figure that stuff out in the morning. But yeah, it’s a unique week, but one that we’re looking forward to. We’ll take any test people want to throw at us.”
The Cowboys entered Week 2 with safety Malik Hooker and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown already out. Both were said to be out for 1-2 weeks, putting their statuses in doubt for Rio.
The Cowboys need Barham, who had a very good game in Week 2, to be ready to go. They also need him to stay on the field for longer, as conditioning is a question with him right now. In Week 1, Barham appeared fatigued near the end of the game. On Sunday, he puked before a snap and missed a big portion of the second half.
Locke’s availability is also a major deal, as the Cowboys want to keep first-round rookie Caleb Downs at nickel. Being hit hard at safety makes such plans more difficult. On Sunday’s win, the Cowboys called Markquese Bell’s name to take over for Locke at safety. The Commanders went after Bell plenty as a result.
No field concerns for the Cowboys
Despite the unique challenge of playing abroad while being banged up on defense, at least Schottenheimer isn’t worried about field conditions in Rio. Concerns emerged around the field conditions at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro following soccer players’ complaints last week.
“We talked a little bit today with the operations people, Todd Williams and his team have been in direct contact with the league,” Schottenheimer said. “The league seems to feel like everything’s going to be fine. And in reality, we were focused on this, but I have no concerns. I’m aware of some of the quotes and stuff, but again, I trust that the league’s going to make the right decision and they’ll get the field up to standard.”
The NFL took over field operations following a soccer match on Sunday and a relocation of the game is highly unlikely.
